Can ya smell that? That’s the smell of the iPhone 5 announcement comin’ round the corner. Apple has been updating their iPhone yearly for four years, so we can be sure that year give will be no exception. With each year come stacks of rumors.

As we prepare for the expected announcement of the new handset, we want to take a look back at some of the many rumors that have come about. Let’s take a look the more recent stuff. Just hit the jump.

1) iPhone 5 to be Announced September 7th

This rumor actually makes sense. We’ve been hearing that the iPhone 5 would be announced in early September, but no one knew exactly what the date would be. We can’t say for sure that this rumor is real, but it comes from Japanese site Kodawarsian, which has a history of accurately reporting on Apple rumors in the past. [Link via Google Translate]

2)Sprint iPhone 5

This rumor was bound to come sooner or later, right? Analysts say that the Sprint iPhone 5 is on the way. While we haven’t all that many rumors about it, a move like this does make sense for Apple and Sprint. The iPhone is a hot item, and there are plenty of Sprint subscribers out there wanting to pick up an iPhone. What better way to surprise them with an iPhone 5 launch this fall? [Link]

3) More Affordable Cloud-based iPhone 5

We’ve heard extensive rumors about Apple’s more budget-friendly iPhone. We’ve heard the rumor many times before. Some rumors say it’s smaller, others say it’s just the iPhone 3GS. Either way, we keep hearing that there will be two iPhones in September. We will know soon enough, but here’s the latest rumor: The new, cheaper iPhone will rely largely on the cloud. It’s also said that it may be free with a two-year contract. Apple will be launching iCloud very soon, and releasing an iPhone 4S (or whatever they call the less feature-packed model) will help them compete with some of the lesser expensive Android handsets that are available. [Link]

4) Fake iPhone 5 website “leaked”

Some prankster put this video up on YouTube and claimed that it was a leaked iPhone 5 site. They went into elaborate detail to fake the look and feel of Apple’s website, but the beginning of the video, whether a mistake or intentional and meant as a sly wink to everyone watching closely gives away the fact that the video is faked. Though it’s worth considering that if they took that much time to put the video together, and had this kind of attention to detail, they would have been careful about that first frame. Who knows.

The Wait is Almost Over

The wait for the iPhone 5 is almost over. With it will come the end of the countless iPhone rumors we’ve been hearing. We’re kind of thankful for that. Don’t get us wrong, rumors and speculation are always fun, but some of these just keep running in circles. Oh well, back to our Apple and iPhone rumor cycle.